


The Other Side

by Tasha2109



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Adoption, F/M, Family, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2020-02-03
Packaged: 2020-02-27 09:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,036
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18736150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tasha2109/pseuds/Tasha2109
Summary: Dorcas isn't an orphan, she was in fact given up for adoption. Zelda had hidden many secrets in her life, however her baby was the biggest.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I have been watching Sabrina since the start and I can't get this particular idea out of my head. It's a direction I would love the show to go in, but while it doesn't I have decided to write it. This will alternate between two different times and two different characters.

Zelda

She was angry, angry with herself and angry with the man that had put her in this situation. Angry was good though, it was better than letting the other emotions bubbling inside her out. She was a Spellman after all, things like this didn’t happen to a Spellman. She tried to tear her eyes away from the spinning spoon, wishing it to stop the incessant movement. The anger bubbling away in her until she felt the burning pinch where she had grasped the side of the table until the wood cut into her palms. Still the damn spoon wouldn’t stop spinning. She heard a noise approaching the doorway and with a mix of panic and rage saw the bowl fly across the room shattering against the wall next to the door. 

“Zelds?” Hilda looked from the shattered bowl and shaking spoon to her older sister. Normally so put together but now shaking with rage, her once perfect hair escaping down her face.

“Go bake something Hilda it is all your good at.” Zelda spat hoping that her voice didn’t betray the mixture of emotions bubbling away inside of her. As Hilda tried to take a step towards her she flashed her a look so filled with venom that not even Hilda could bring herself to take a step closer to her sister, instead she fled. Zelda took a deep breathe as a single tear spilled down her cheek. There was only one resolution and she needed to be quick. 

...

It was a blessing she supposed that her precious position as a midwife gave her access to the books needed, it saved anyone questioning what she was up to. The ingredients for the potion however took a little longer to gather. They weren’t all things that they kept in the house, and Satan knows she couldn’t buy them all in one go or the same place. Rumours would have been flying around the coven like wildfire. She spread it out over two weeks to make sure that no one suspected. No one that was except Hilda. She was angry, and her first reaction as always was to punish her sister, not physically but emotionally. She hadn’t said one word to her since the day of the bowl incident, but her looks had kept the younger Spellman in line. She knew deep down that her treatment of Hilda was wrong, but she was in self preservation mode and she didn’t want to talk about it, she didn’t want there to even be the slightest chance that Hilda could talk her out of the plans she had made. 

Watching the potion bubble she added the final ingredient, the dark blue mixture bubbled and spat for a few moments before suddenly turning the darkest shade of crimson. Zelda couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the irony, clearly the recipe had been discovered by a Warlock with a twisted sense of humour. Spooning the liquid into the bottle she had she put a cap on before getting rid of the remaining liquid and starting to clear out the pot. There was no need for any evidence of what had happened, especially not when it came to nosey siblings. When she had finished cleaning she took the potion in one hand and her favoured whiskey decanter in the other before heading up the stairs towards the bedroom she shared with Hilda. 

Ever the practical person Zelda went and fetched towels from the bathroom before changing into her nightwear and a robe, she spread the towels out and made sure that there was a bowl next to her bed, she knew from experience that what came next would be far from pleasant. Undoing the bottle lid she placed it on the table beside her bed before moving the now open bottle towards her mouth. She couldn’t tell whether it was the smell of the potion or the anticipation of what was to come but within seconds she felt her stomach turn and only had a moment to grab the bowl before she was throwing up the contents of her stomach. Wave after wave of sickness rolled over her and with the vomit came the tears, holding the bowl with one hand the second came to rest on the ever so gently curve of her usually taut stomach, that and the nausea the only reminder of what hid within. No, she couldn’t go soft. Why was she even letting herself think that she could carry a child. What would everyone say, what would everyone think? She needed to act now, before she lost all resolve, putting the bowl down she picked up the bottle again. Her vision blurry with a mixture of tears and the make up that was running down her cheeks. She went to raise the bottle again before another wave of sobs racked her body. She didn’t hear the door open, but through the tears she saw Hilda stood in front of her. 

“Oh Zelds...” the words died in the air as she saw the crimson liquid in the bottle.

“Don’t... I need to do this.” Even as she said the words Zelda knew that her resolve was gone. Deep down she knew that she couldn’t go through with it, not now. 

“No you don’t. There are other ways.” Hilda moved to the bed and gently took the bottle from her hand, with a flick of her wrist the bottle and it’s contents were gone. Hilda gently sat on the bed next to her sister and within seconds Zelda was curled into her side tears flowing and sobs wracking her body. 

“I’m sorry for being such an arse... I don’t deserve you being nice to me.” The words were muffled by the hideous pink jumper that was Hilda’s current favourite. 

“I’m your sister, it’s what we do. Now let’s get you all cleaned up and then have a chat about what happens next.” Hilda kissed her sweaty forehead before holding her close. This was going to be a long 13 months for both of them.


	2. Dorcas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How could she be an orphan if her parents weren't dead?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for chapter two, these will alternate between the two timelines and character, which will make more sense once you have read this one.

Dorcas

Orphan, it had always seemed such a dirty word. There had been times in her life when she was sure that people didn’t actually know her name, orphan had apparently become an acceptable name for her.

Her other issue with the word orphan was that it wasn’t entirely accurate, yes she had been abandoned on the steps of the academy, but that didn’t mean that her parents were dead. She had simply been put into a group with the other orphans and it hadn’t been spoken about since. She had once tried to ask Father Blackwood if he knew anything about her background.

“No child, you were found on the steps of the academy and none of the coven claimed any knowledge of you. I would assume a wayward witch found herself with a bastard child and couldn’t face the shame.”

So she had tried to move on, and for many years she had. Finding her sisters had helped and for so long they had been all of the family she had needed. Now things had changed though, Prudence was a Blackwood and Agatha’s parents had died when she was a baby. Dorcas however was the odd one out and after all this time the not knowing was becoming unbearable.

This was why Dorcas was along in the library going through the records, she knew that it was going to take time, and she knew that it might not lead her anywhere but she had to try. She had to know who her parents were, and why they hadn’t wanted her. She wanted to be able to prove them wrong and show them the powerful witch that she had become.

Looking through the files she took a deep breath this would be so much quicker with help, but she couldn’t face telling anyone about this, not even her sisters. The thought of anyone thinking of her as weak, thinking of her as needy filled her with so much anger. She had always seen herself as the weakest of her sisters. Prudence and Agatha had completed their stories; they knew who they were and where they had come from. Not her, she was just ‘the orphan’

*

Sitting in black mass had become such a chore, she could barely focus on the Father’s preaching’s. Instead she spent the ninety minutes twice a week looking around the coven. She could never work out what she was expecting, it wasn’t as though someone was about to stand up and claim their abandoned child.

She had started with the families, Prudence had been the result of an extra-marital affair so it would make sense it she had been, the hours she was spending in the library were starting to become suspicious, her sisters were starting to question the amount of time that she was spent studying for extra credit. 

There was something bothering her, she was part of the coven and the academy and she knew just as well as others about how quickly gossip spread around the coven. If she had been the product of an affair within the coven then it would have reached her eventually. No, that wouldn’t have been it, and she knew that she was a child the Church of Night, no matter how she had come about there was no way that any member of a witching coven would give up a child when their numbers were declining so quickly.  
So this week she had started on the single witches and thankfully there weren’t many of them. Her mother would have had to have been smart, to have kept the secret for 18 years, to have not slipped up, to have been able to watch her daughter grow in front of her and not say a word.

Looking across the front row her eyes suddenly stopped. How could she have been so stupid? Her eyes stopped on the woman with flowing red hair, the hair that matched her own. The woman who had never been married or been in a relationship as far as anyone knew.

She couldn’t tear her gaze away from the woman, she tried to focus elsewhere but everything ended with Zelda Spellman. The mass ended and they all rose, for a split second her eyes caught the green flash of the redheads eyes, she wanted nothing more than to shout out that she knew. She needed to plan this through though. She needed to outwit the smartest witch in the coven.

*

Her first thought had been to just go to the mortuary, to knock on the door and confront Zelda. Surely if she asked her outright then she wouldn’t be able to lie? To ask her directly and have her lie to her face however wasn’t something that she thought she could face after finally working it out. Being rejected once was enough, twice was more than even she could handle.

Instead she was going down a different road, it had taken planning and keeping her sisters out of it was harder than the spells that had been involved. Finally she was happy with the results and only now as she took the final few steps through the cemetery had she started to question her decision. No matter how much she willed her feet to stop they just kept moving and before she could question her decision again she was at the top of the steps and knocking at the big wooden door.

“Dorcas, is everything alright dear?” Hilda couldn’t hide her surprise at seeing Dorcas stood in front of her, or that she was on her own.

“Absolutely Miss Spellman, I was just wondering whether you and your sister would be able to help me with some medical studying I’ve been doing for some extra credit. I’ve decided that I want to become a midwife and I couldn’t think of better people to help me. I’ve bought some muffins with me. I’ve been trying a new recipe and thought that you could help me tweak that as well?”

“Oh that’s lovely dear, why don’t you come in?” Hilda took a step back into the hallway and opened the door for Dorcas to walk through.


	3. Zelda II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a growing baby come growing feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to Zelda, thanks for the comments guys. The chapters will probably slow down a little bit now after bank holidays and going back to work. Enjoy.

The porcelain of the toilet bowl had become her best friend in the past few weeks. Holding onto the sides she once again slid down into her favoured position. Dear Satan she was ready to be done with the first trimester, and whatever blasted mortal coined the term morning sickness deserved a short sharp shock, preferably with a cattle prod. Morning, afternoon, evening and night sickness sounded pretty accurate at this moment in time. She went to move from the floor as another wave of nausea hit and she slid back onto the floor, as she retched she felt her stomach twisting in protest at having nothing left.

She let out a wail of frustration before very quickly feeling a hand running circles up and down her spine, a glass of iced water was placed into her free hand. “Make it stop.” She knew that she sounded pathetic but she was past the point of caring this morning. 

“I wish that I could.” Hilda would do anything to make things easier for her sister, Satan knows the mood swings were bad enough when they favoured anger, seeing her older sister cry was the hardest thing she had ever had to witness. 

“How have we not mastered a spell to stop morning sickness? Patriarchy at the height of rudeness if you ask me.” Zelda reached up and flushed the toilet clearing out the nasty mess. Rather than rushing to her feet she relaxed back into Hilda and sipped the water, instantly grateful for the relief that it bought to her throat. 

“You know the rules Zelds, no spells are to interfere with the gestation of a child of night.” Hilda gently moved a sweat soaked bit of hair from her sisters forehead. “You’re nearly 14 weeks, with any reason this should all be done soon.” 

“Great, then I’ll just keep getting fatter for the next year. What a joy.” Zelda put the water down before gently pulling back her nightgown to revel the perfect bump that was starting to push out from her midriff. “There’s only so many times you can let out my dresses. At some point I’m going to either need a glamour or a rather effective girdle.” 

“You are not restricting my niece with a girdle Zelda Spellman. I forbid it.” 

Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. “Well we had best get working on a damn good glamour then.” 

Hilda nodded slowly. “Zelds are you sure this is what you want? It’s not as though we are still in the Victorian era, women do have children without being married...” Hilda’s voice died as she saw the pain flashing across Zelda’s face. 

“Women may well do that Hilda, Spellman’s however do not.” With that Zelda was off the floor and her emotional barriers rose with her. “The child will be adopted into a loving witch family and raised in the way of the path of night. I won’t let them be disadvantaged by my mistake.”

“Will you at least tell me who the father is Zelda? Doesn’t he deserve to know? Maybe he would want to marry you?”

Zelda looked at Hilda before cocking her eyebrow. “What makes you think that I would want to marry him Hilda? It was a one time thing, a silly mistake.”

Hilda felt herself relax, if it was a one time thing then that meant the child’s father wasn’t Faustus. Him and Zelda had been on and off for years and Hilda couldn’t stand the man, he treated women with such distain and the thought of her sister being attached in any way to him filled her with disgust. “I just thought, well that maybe you and Fau...” Hilda’s voice died away as she saw the anger flash across Zelda’a eyes.

“You thought that this child was Faustus’?” Zelda didn’t know why she was surprised, her and Faustus had been doing a dance for years, hell at one point she thought that they might actually become something more.

Hilda slowly nodded not wanting to put any words into the air. Her sometimes irrational sister mixed with pregnancy hormones was not something that she wanted to encounter.

“I guess I can see why.” Zelda spoke slowly. “Faustus made his decision when he married someone else, and while I may have enjoyed certain aspects of our ‘relationship’ I refuse to be a mistress” she spat out the final word. She didn’t need to tell Hilda the whole sordid affair, but the moment Faustus became high priest she had known that she would never become his wife. She was a Spellman and she would never be able to play the part of the pretty wife.

“I am guessing that the babies father doesn’t know then?” Hilda was feeling brave and if she didn’t ask now then she wasn’t sure that she would find the courage again.

“No Hilda. He was a visiting Warlock and we had a one time thing. I don’t feel the need to track him down and inform him of his inadequate spell casting.” Zelda walked over to the mirror and went to flick her hand to fix her appearance, she stopped for a moment and sighed.

Hilda watching her sister saw the hesitation and before either sister could say a word her own hand moved through the air and Zelda’s normal appearance was fixed. “Well then, if you’re feeling up to it then we should go and start working on this glamour.” 

Zelda watched her sister walk past her and out of the room, she glanced back into the mirror and rested a hand on her stomach. While a glamour could hide the physical signs of her pregnancy it couldn’t hide the feelings that were growing inside her, with every day she could feel the bond grow and there wasn’t a spell to stop that.


	4. Dorcas II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments guys :) it’s a while since I wrote any fanfic so much appreciated! 
> 
> This is the last chapter I have written before I started posting, so there may be a little gap before the next chapter. Enjoy.

Dorcas felt herself take a deep breath as she stepped inside the house, she couldn’t stop the irrational fear that someone was about to jump out and taunt her for not belonging.

Looking around she took in the dark wood of the staircase along with the detailed portraits of the Spellman family members lining the walls, she felt her heart pang if she saw flashes of red hair covering the decades. She swallowed hard, for so long she had told herself that she didn’t need a family. She had her sisters and she had turned out just fine, but being here looking at what she could have had... it took all of her strength to not turn and run straight back out the door.

“Come into the kitchen dear, there’s room on the table to go over the books and I’m sure Zelda will be along shortly.” Hilda ushered the girl into the warm kitchen and busied herself putting the water onto boil.

Dorcas took her books out and arranged them on the table, she pulled out the most peculiar looking stool and gently perched on it trying to make herself somewhat comfortable. 

Hilda clearly saw the girls bemused face at the stool. “I bought those during my time in London, I liked them because they were shorter than all the other stools.” Hilda couldn’t help but laugh at the memory. “I’ll never forget Zeldas face when I turned up here with them, something very similar to the one you just pulled.”

Dorcas nodded. “Did you say that your sister would be along shortly?” 

“Dorcas? To what do we owe this unexpected visit?” She heard the voice before she saw the taller sister walk through the doorway.

“Zeld... Sister Spellman I mean, I came, well the muffins and the...” Dorcas wanted to scream, what the heaven was wrong with her? She took a breath and looked Zelda straight in the eyes. “I want to become a midwife and have some extra credit to do. I thought that it made sense to ask you and Sister Hilda considering your experience.” She pushed the muffin basket gently across the table. “I bought muffins for means a payment.” She flashed a gentle smile from one sister to the other. 

Zelda eyed the muffin basket and then the flustered girl. “What can it hurt? You are right after all, we were the best midwives the coven ever had.” Zelda puffed her chest slightly at the thought of her own achievements before lighting a cigarette. 

“Quite right Zelds, what better way to round off our midwifery careers then to pass our knowledge onto the next generation.” Hilda set down the tea tray to the side of the pile of books. She moved around the table before she pulled the stool closest to her sister out from under the table before moving to sit on the other. 

Zelda took a step towards the table before rolling her eyes at the god awful stool she was being made to sit on. “Right Dorcas, where did you want to start?”

Dorcas picked up the top book before flicking to the page that her first sticker lay. “I was hoping we could start with the third trimester, I’ve read in a lot of places that’s when hysteria sets in for most witches, but there doesn’t seem to be any definite remedies.”

*

Nearly an hour passed with the three of them going through the books and Dorcas writing notes as the spoke, she had forgotten about the muffins until Hilda reached across and put one onto one of the plates that she had fetched. 

Following suit Dorcas took one, and to her relief Zelda followed. They carried on talking while eating the muffins. Looking at her watch Dorcas gave it ten minute before slowly turning the attention away from the text books.

“So Sister Hilda, what did you think of the muffin?” It seemed like a fairly good place to start.

“Not bad, they could have been lighter but that comes with practise dear.” Hilda stopped as she replayed her words. Had she meant to be that blunt?

“What about you Sister Zelda?”

“I prefer a savoury muffin, but they are adequate.” 

“Each to their own, and tell me Sister Zelda. What made you decide to become a midwife?” She wanted to dive straight in, but this seemed like a kinder path. 

“Dorcas I am a witch, my choice was to become a wife or find something else. The thought of teaching charms to whiny teenagers at the academy was never something I saw myself doing.” Zelda caught herself, she felt suddenly off guard, looking over at the muffin basket she baulked a little.

“Dorcas, did you say that you made those muffins yourself?”

“Yes Sister, they are my own special recipe.”

“I don’t suppose you added anything to them? A special ingredient or such?” Zelda knew the answer before it came.

“Why yes Sister Spellman, I added a dash of truth serum so we could all be nice and honest with each other.” Dorcas could feel her feet starting to twitch, she knew that the moment was coming. 

Hilda gasped a little. “Why would you do that dear? Is this a little game you and your sisters have cooked up.” She stood up and quickly disposed of the rest of the muffins, none of them needed those falling into the wrong hands.

“Not my sisters no. This was all just me.” She still felt guilty that her sisters knew nothing of her plans, that was a whole different conversation.

“Then why?” Hilda had her back turned to Zelda and so missed the almost murderous look that her sister was currently focusing in her direction. Zelda was a second away from finding the sharpest knife in the drawer to shut Hilda up, couldn’t she see what was unfurling in front of her.

“It’s quite simple really Sister Hilda. I came her to find out whether Sister Zelda is in fact my mother.” The room stopped, Hilda felt the basket slip from her hands. The noise of the wicker hitting the floor seemed to start everything up again. 

“Oh.” Hilda wanted the ground to swallow her she suddenly realised that Zelda was looking at her with eyes that were clearly picking a murder weapon of choice.

Dorcas smiled, she potion had made her brave. She had waited so many years for this moment, and here it finally was. “Oh indeed. So Sister Zelda. Are you my mother?”


	5. Zelda III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a growing bump comes growing feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for the delay on this update!! Everything went a bit mental. I am going to try and get ahead of myself a little bit and get the chapters coming a bit more regularly!
> 
> Thanks for everyone’s comments and kudos it means a lot. Apologies for all the feelings in this one?!

Glamours were great from a distance, people walking past would see the same well put together Zelda Spellman. She wore the same high necked lace dresses. Her hair remained in the perfect curls. 

However if you were to walk too close to Zelda then you might brush past something slightly strange. You might feel the protruding bump pushing its way out of her midriff. If you watched Zelda walking her way around the mortuary you might see her taking a wider path around the closely laid out furniture and sitting with her chair pushed further out from the table than normal.

If you watched her all day then you might once or twice see her hands come to rest in the air above her stomach. It wouldn’t be for long as she would suddenly move away, but all of the signs of her secret were there if you watched closely.

Zelda shut the door behind the final appointment of the day. She let her hand linger on the door for a moment before with the over waving around her. She took a deep breath before looking down at the rather large bump pushing out from her stomach. 

She knew that a glamour couldn’t truly hide the feelings of being pregnant. It couldn’t hide the fluttering kicks she felt, or the small movements pushing out when the baby moved inside her. She wasn’t sure that she would want it to. She had told so many women that the 13 months of a witches pregnancy were the most joyous for any witch, yet for her it had become a painful countdown to the moment she handed away her child.

“Penny for them?” Hilda walked towards her sister before placing a gentle hand on her back.

Zelda looked towards her sister and before she knew it there was a single tear rolling down her cheek. She turned away as quickly as she had turned towards her and batted the tear away from her cheek. “Go away Hilda.” Her voice wavered despite trying to keep it together.

“Come on Zelds, let’s get you a nice cup of tea.” She took a gentle but firm hold of her sisters arm and led her towards the kitchen. 

Part of Zelda wanted to pull away but the stronger half led her sister lead her towards the heart of their home. She led herself be gently put down into the chair that was hers and weakly smiled towards Hilda as she placed the warm mug of tea in front of her.

“It’s ok to talk about it Zelda, there must be a lot going round in your head my love.” Hilda knew that she was pushing her luck, but Zelda had been opening up to her more and more recently.

“What is there to talk about Hilda? I will feel this child grow in me. Feel every kick and watch it grow. Then after a hard and painful labour I will watch another woman walk away with my child to raise as her own.” Zelda put down her tea and went to push away from the table. 

“Stop.” Before Zelda could move away Hilda had moved around the table and crouched before her sister taking both of Zelda’s hands in her own. “You stop that right now.” Hilda could feel her own hot tears starting to fall down her face. “You can still change your mind. She’s your daughter Zelda Spellman.”

Zelda looked through her now tear swollen eyes at her sister. “You know that I can’t.” She gulped as she moved her hands down to rest on her bump. With timing that she didn’t dare to think about her little girl had started moving. 

“You’ve told me my whole life that there’s no such word as can’t. Maybe for once in your life you should listen to your own advice and do what you want!” 

“I’m a Spellman Hilda. I can’t be a single mother and I won’t drag our family through the indecency of a bastard child.” Zelda had finally stopped her tears from falling and put both of her hands onto the table.

Hilda hadn’t managed to stop her tears from flowing. She had got so close and yet again Zelda had closed herself off again. She moved both of her hands and rested then on top of Zelda’s stomach. “Ok. This is all your choice Zelda. You just remember one thing.  
We are family, you me and this little girl. I’m not leaving you... no matter how hard you push me away.” 

Zelda placed her hands on top of her sisters for a moment she squeezed them slightly before moving them off her stomach. “The harder you love, the harder you hurt Hilda. Sometimes it’s easier never to have loved at all.”


	6. Dorcas III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the massive delay. Life got so in the way, but with Part 3 on the way I want to get this done and crack on with something new :) I’m not sure how much more of this there will be, it’s started to all come to a head now.
> 
> Your reviews have all been amazing! Thank You!

Dorcas III

Zelda tried with every part of her to stop her mouth from opening, she tried so hard that a tear squeezed out and rolled down her cheek. She looked at the girl in front of her, holding on to life as the both of them knew it. She could feel her lungs starting to burn, desperate for her to release the breath she was holding and give them fresh air.

In a mixture of a rushing exhale and a sob the single word finally left the safety of her mouth. “Yes” and with that life as any of them knew it had changed.

Dorcas nodded slowly her mouth moving as though she was physically chewing over the singular word. There was silence for a moment the truth finally out and hanging over the three women. “So you gave me away then?”

“Yes.” This time Zelda didn’t fight the word, it was pointless to fight it any more. 

“She didn’t want to love...” Hilda clasped a hand over her mouth, and felt herself shrink into herself as Zelda’s eyes were suddenly burning into her. 

“That’s enough Hilda.” No matter how much Zelda knew the muffins were to blame she couldn’t help herself from snapping at her younger sister.

“Now Sister Zelda, the whole point of the muffins was to finally get some honesty in my life.” Dorcas stood up and turned her back on the two women. The girls shoulders gently moved up and down, she was taking a few deep breaths. Readying herself for the next set of questions.

“You’ve got what you came for Dorcas, what more could you want?” Zelda finally gave in and lit a much craved cigarette. As the first drag of smoke hit her lungs she felt the release hit her.

“Oh far from it Sister Zelda. I’ve waited my whole life for this moment. Now why wouldn’t you want me to know that you wanted me?” She hadn’t meant it to be that blunt, but it was said now.

“You were a mistake. I couldn’t let myself ruin my life over one mistake... no matter how much I wanted to.” The final words became a whisper. Zelda could feel her facade cracking further with each sentence.

“Then why not take a potion... you could have ended it so much earlier. Why go through all that pain.” For the first time Dorcas felt a tear slide down her cheek. She was sure what she had expected, she had been through this so many times in her head. What she wanted to hear, what she wanted to feel.

“I couldn’t do it.” Zelda’s voice cracked and no matter what she wanted the truth potion was in complete control now. “From the moment I found out... I loved you.” Zelda looked toward the flame head girl through eyes that were now wet with tears. For the first time in a very long time she had admitted the one thing that scared her. Dorcas pursed her lips. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t do this, she had come here for answers. Not to be manipulated again by the woman who hadn’t wanted her, by the woman who gave her away. “If that were true Sister Spellman then you wouldn’t have given me away.” “Dorcas. Love. You know that it’s true. You baked the muffins, you gave them to us both. Accept what she’s saying, it’s what you came for.” Hilda had been watching the exchange become more and more emotional. The two woman more alike then either of them cared to admit, both of them hurting and neither of them wanting to be the first to admit it.


	7. Zelda IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for bearing with me, I’m pretty sure that there will only be a couple more chapters of this, then I am looking for some ideas. Part 3 has me all kind of confused!!

Zelda IV

Hilda had warned her that this would happen, she shouldn’t have needed reminding. Years of midwifery training should have prepared her for the final trimester. Perhaps she had been purposefully ignoring the final months speeding towards her, because the closer they came the sooner the end would be here.

So now here she was 12 months pregnant and cursing every second, out loud that was. “HILDA.” She had meant the shout to sound authoritative but the end just tailed off into a wail and to her horror was quickly ended with a sob.

“What is it. Is she coming?!” Hilda burst into the room with her arms still holding a bowl with this mornings half made baked goods.

“For heavens sake Hilda, you know I still have weeks of this torment in front of me.” Zelda poured towards her younger sister. 

Hilda looked her up and down doing a quick mental check and trying to work out what had caused the shout.

“My stockings Hilda... I can’t get them on...” Zelda resented every single word that left her mouth. She had never felt so helpless. “Can you help me?” 

Hilda wanted so much to let out the little giggle that was building inside of her, but this was not the place. Even at 12 months pregnant Zelda was perfectly capable of wielding a weapon. “Of course love.” Hilda gently put down the bowl and knelt down in front of Zelda. Carefully she started to pull the nylon material up, before realising where the issue had come from. “Zelds... I think we might have to rethink this.” She looked up at her sister over the huge baby bump she now wore. “I can’t get them over your...”

“You’re not trying hard enough. You never want to help me.” Zelda stamped her foot down in front of Hilda and tried to push herself up off the bed. She thought that she had enough momentum... she was wrong.

After watching Zelda try and fail to get off the bed Hilda pushed herself up from the floor, after doing a quick check for anything sharp she sat down next to her sister and snaked an arm around her shoulder.

Zelda wasn’t sure if it was the simple gesture or just sheer frustration but the tears started, and they weren’t going to stop anytime soon. 

Neither of them spoke for the following moments, Hilda gently rocked her sister rubbing circles into the sore muscles of her back. 

Zelda took the comforting gestures, it was moments like this that she regretted ever being mean to the younger Spellman, after everything she had done it was Hilda that was still her. Hilda that was putting her damn shoes on and baking her every cake she could ever dream of.

“Hilda...”

“Yes love.”

“I think that I might have come down with something contagious...” 

Hilda let out a little gasp and pulled back slightly. “How.. I mean is the baby ok.”

Zelda rolled her eyes as she pulled back to look at her sister. “She’s fine Hilda, as am I.” This time Zelda couldn’t help but smile a little. “I think that it’s time I stopped working Hilda... and we need a cover story.

“Oh yes of course.” Hilda had been trying to get Zelda to give up work for the past 6 weeks. In reality Zelda was becoming more of a hinderance that a help.

“Maybe we could go part time for a bit? We could both do with a break?” 

“That sounds ideal. We really do need to sort everything out before...” Even after nearly a year Hilda couldn’t bring herself to say it. It was as though if she talked about the adoption then it was making it real, and at the moment she was quite enjoying ignoring the whole thing.

Zelda simply nodded before stretching backwards and placing a hand on her stomach. She could feel the baby moving more every day, along with the sporadic tightening sensations there was no doubting that the time for her little girl to be born was drawing near. 

Hilda watched her sister watching her stomach, and no matter how stubborn Zelda Spellman was, Hilda knew that she loved that little girl and she refused to give up on either of them, not yet.


	8. Dorcas IV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting so close now! There’s going to be 10 chapters of this, I’m not 100% sure how it’s going to wrap, but back to Dorcas for the time being.

Dorcas IV

Dorcas rested her hands on the table taking deep breaths to try and stop the tears that were falling down her face. 

She wasn’t sure what it was that she had expected when she came over, but for all three of them to be in tears wasn’t it.

“Should I make some tea.” Hilda moved slowly behind her sister and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She felt Zelda flinch slightly at the touch, but watched as the older woman slowly nodded at her.

“Dorcas, would you like some tea?” Hilda moved towards the younger redhead, she went to reach out towards her before pulling back. 

“Yes.” Dorcas pulled back before pulling out the chair opposite Zelda and sitting down. “Cream and...”

“...one sugar.” Zelda finished the order before smiling weakly towards her. “It’s a Spellman trait, if that’s indeed what we are calling you now.” Zelda knew that she was completely out of control of this situation, all she could do was try and pull it back round.

“I don’t feel like that’s down to me, you gave away my name when you gave me away.” Dorcas looked down at her watch. She’d been sat in the kitchen for just over an hour and she knew that the muffins would have worn off. 

“Do you need to be somewhere?” Zelda’s tone had become shorter as she felt the truth wearing off. 

“No. I was merely thinking that we all know the muffins would have worn off by now, so I guess that’s the end of the truthfulness.” Dorcas wiped the remaining tears from the corners of her eyes. 

“I think we’ve come too far for that love.” Hilda walked back over with the tea. She placed a cup in front of Dorcas first. Pausing before she placed a hand on top of hers. “Now you know the truth there’s lots of decisions to be made.” She squeezes gently before sitting on one of the empty chairs and putting Zelda’s tea in front of her.

“I think the real question is Dorcas, what did you come here for.” Zelda opened her cigarette case before slowly lighting one.

“The truth.” Dorcas spat the words out. “Surely that much is obvious?”

“Well now you have that, through devious means I may add.” Zelda let the smoke curl from her lips. “What’s next? Surely you came with a plan? To embarrass me in front of the whole coven? To out me as an unwed mother?” 

“See, that’s the first thing that you think of. Your precious standing in the coven! Not the daughter that you gave away like an old dress.” 

“Right. Stop.” Hilda banged her hands down on the table. She had spent enough time living with Zelda to know that this conversation was going precisely nowhere. “You’re clearly both upset at the situation, which is understandable. However shouting at each other isn’t going to get us anywhere.

She watched both women roll their eyes before taking a deep breath and sitting back in their seats. If the situation weren’t so tense then Hilda would have let out a laugh at the similarities currently in front of her. She did wonder how many more people hadn’t noticed how much the two women were alike.

“Dorcas. What do you want to happen next.” She looked away from Zelda and directly at the girl. She looked directly at her. “This is your chance to talk and tell us what you really want.”

Dorcas put her hands around the cup, enjoying the warmth it was giving her. “I want...” she stopped looking directly at the younger Spellman. There was a kindness in her eyes that she had always seen. Something that made her instantly trust the woman in front of her. “I want to be part of something... that’s what I’ve always wanted.” Dorcas felt a tear rolling down her cheek and this time she didn’t instantly wipe it away because it felt completely honest.

Hilda nodded. “You want to be part of a family, I understand that.” Hilda reached out and this time she took Dorcas’ hand. Still holding her hand she looked towards Zelda.

“And Zelda, what do you want?” Hilda spoke the words slowly. She had no idea what sort of response she would get from her sister. She had watched her through her whole pregnancy. She had watched her through all the pain of giving away her baby. The whole time wishing that she would change her mind. 

Zelda ran her tongue over her teeth and looked towards the ceiling. She could feel the hot tears spilling over and down her cheeks. “I want...” she choked as she tried to get the words out. She bought her head down and looked directly at the child she had given away. “I want a second chance.”


End file.
